Patterson, Smith could be ready for Hawks

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Things couldn’t have been going much better for Greg Smith. After a season spent shuttling to and from the D-League, he had moved into the Rockets’ rotation. He shot 93.3 percent in the preseason, and with dunks on consecutive plays, he had helped fuel an opening-night win in Detroit.

On the second dunk, however, he suffered a strained left foot.

No further damage was found and by Thursday Smith had improved quickly enough to say he expects to play Friday against the Hawks.

“You do kind of worry when it first happens, but it gave me motivation to work harder,” said Smith, who estimates he is at 90 percent. “It reminded me that something could happen where your career might stop.”

Patterson return could be a boost
Rockets forward Patrick Patterson, who missed the final two preseason games and Wednesday’s regular-season opener with a strained left quad muscle, returned to practice and could be cleared to start Friday against the Hawks.

Going against a frontcourt with Al Horford and Josh Smith, and with the extensive pick-and-rolls the Hawks run, Patterson’s return is considered especially important.

“(He) has a little bit different understanding than some of our young guys,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He has really good defensive instincts, and he’s a tremendous pick-and-roll defender from the big spots.”

Harden’s debut no big surprise
Chandler Parsons thought James Harden was adjusting quickly through three practices. On Wednesday, when Harden had one of the best debut games ever, he had his proof.

“He’s a leader. He came in here and the first thing he said was, ‘OK, let’s tuck our shirts in and go to work.’ That’s just how he is. He works as hard as everybody else and he pushes everybody else. I’m not surprised at all by the game he had. And I won’t be surprised if he does it again Friday night.”